The Bagg Group Blog

Recently, an A-level candidate met with a staffing solutions expert at The Bagg Group and said he was seeking a change because his boss’s negativity brought down the entire team. That’s certainly not the first time that a toxic workplace has prompted the departure of an excellent employee.

Candidates who have much to offer choose upbeat work environments.

With four decades of successfully placing people in full-time jobs, contract work and temporary positions, recruiters at The Bagg Group know that the saying, “birds of a feather flock together” holds true when it comes to attitude. Hiring authorities who think positively attract and retain positive thinking employees.  

Similarly, there’s truth in another cliché…misery loves company.  An employee who is easily defeated by problems will align quickly and comfortably with a boss who sees only doom and gloom.

But in an interview, everyone tends to be on their best behavior.  With that in mind, hiring authorities at  top companies in the GTA have asked how The Bagg Group staffing solution experts discern between negative thinkers and positive ones when meeting with candidates.  We do it by listening closely to what people tell themselves, and others.    

Negative thinkers complain and judge; positive thinkers assess, consider and explore possibilities with curiousity.     

The following chart from the Mayo Clinic offers some examples of the differences between negative and positive talk.

Negative self-talk                              Positive self-talk

As experts in interviewing, we know that a funny thing happens to you when you listen intently to determine if someone approaches work from a positive or negative perspective.   You start to notice your own communication patterns. 

Are you being upbeat or unenthusiastic? Our staffing experts say the minute they feel they are being negative, they change their  tone because every good interviewer knows the golden rule, established by Confuscius, “Do not impose on others what you yourself do not desire.”

After 40 years of interviewing candidates to ensure they are the right fit for our clients, The Bagg Group has a well-known reputation for conducting insightful interviews. That’s why hiring authorities across the GTA often consult us on the subject.

One key piece of advice is to use of your limited time effectively. We know you have busy days and can’t afford to spend hours with each candidate.   A good rule of thumb is to ensure the candidate does 75% of the talking.  At a first meeting, it’s critical for you to spend most of your time together listening so you can assess the person’s potential.

If you find you’re doing more than 25% of the talking, you may be falling prey to one of three common pitfalls. 

1. Recounting the history of your organization:  Telling the history of anything takes time, more than you likely have to spare.  Moreover, it’s not essential information that you need to impart.  This is research that the candidate can do on their own time, and should have done before the meeting

2. Detailing your own career path:  It’s not unusual for a candidate to ask how long you’ve been with the company.  One anecdote leads to another, and soon you may find you’ve talked more about your experience and less about the candidate’s than you’d like.

3. Swapping industry gossip:  It’s hard for people in the same industry not to talk shop, especially if they have people and places in common.  

A little chit-chat is great, and recommended to put the candidate at ease. But it’s easy to lose track of time and have little left for the nitty gritty of the interview.

Also, keep in mind that what is said in the interview room doesn’t necessarily stay in the interview room.  When you trade war stories, it’s easy to make off-the-cuff comments that you may not want the candidate to repeat later. 

Two other common pitfalls to watch out for:

Letting first impressions rule:  We all make snap judgments.  Before a person says two words, we can be wowed or unimpressed by their personal style.  

However, as staffing solution experts who have successfully placed hundreds of people in full-time positions, temporary jobs and contract jobs, we know that first impressions can be wrong. 

The candidate who wears an eccentric tie can prove to be a fantastic team-player.  The one with tattoos may not look likes the sales rep you had in mind, but could have the best people skills you’ll ever come across.

Allowing the candidate to have an easy ride: At The Bagg Group, we ask our candidates hard questions, and only recommend those whose answers satisfy us. But we know that a candidate can be nervous in meeting with a hiring authority.

You may be feeling so sensitive to a person’s case of the nerves that you don’t want to add to their stress by throwing them a curve ball.  Sometimes, being too nice doesn’t do anyone a favour. Ask challenging questions as you need and allow the candidate to rise to the occasion.

It happens on occasion that you get called to interview, and even as you write down the time of the meeting, you decide you don’t want the job. 

Sometimes, your instincts are right.  But with more than 30 years in the business of staffing, the recruiters at The Bagg Group know that often people are guided not by instinct, but by preconceptions. 

The definition of a preconception is an opinion that is formed before you have adequate evidence.  And jumping to conclusions is never a useful strategy.  Certainly, it is not an advisable plan for anyone who is seeking full-time employment, contract opportunities, or temporary work.

At The Bagg Group, we urge all candidates to lose their biases and instead make informed judgments about opportunities.  The key word is “informed.”  That means going to an interview and learning all the facts before deciding on anything.  

To that end, approach the interview with an open mind, and the attitude that ‘you just never know.’  Many of our candidates have reported back that they were pleasantly surprised. 

At best, the opportunity for which you are interviewing offers more potential than you anticipated.

At the very worst, your meeting with a hiring manager gave you a chance to practice your interview skills.  And that is worth every minute of your time and effort. 

What’s more, you can never afford not to make as good an impression as possible.  The people you interview with today may move to new company in the GTA tomorrow.  And their new position may be at your dream company. You want to make sure they remember you well.   

That’s why as staffing experts, we urge candidates to always dress for the interview, do their preliminary research on the company, prepare questions, and show enthusiasm, regardless of their preconceptions.

Cecil Taylor, a pioneering jazz musician, is famous for saying, “You must surrender whatever preconceptions you have about music if you’re really interested in it.”

His words apply equally well to anyone who is interested in expanding their work skills, knowledge, and opportunities.  Give every interview a fair chance, because every chance you take can be a chance to win.

You might expect that on a scorching day no one would expect you do to drive or take public transit to a job opportunity in the GTA in full business attire. Sadly, you would be wrong.

It doesn’t matter which jobs you are seeking; you have to dress for success, regardless of the weather. Whether you want a full-time position, contract work or temporary employment, your interviewer is going to be looking for professionalism. 

Even on days when it’s so hot you could fry an egg on the sidewalk.

Remember, you aren’t meeting with your interviewer outside, where they too would be aware of the heat and want to bare their arms.  Instead, hiring authorities are working in air-conditioned cool offices and aren’t thinking about the weather.  So the last thing you want to do is show up looking hot, bothered, and dripping with sweat.

At The Bagg Group, we advise all those hunting for jobs in the heat to follow these 4 tips.

1. Even if your interview is on a casual dress day, don’t show up wearing shorts and sandals.  Keep your look professional. Once you get the job, you can dress as the employees do.

2. You do want to be comfortable, so keep clothing simple and not tight. But men still need to wear a tie. And both women and men need to wear a jacket in the interview. It may be tiresome to carry on the way to the interview, but a jacket hides a million wrinkles, and perspiration.

3. You can wear summer shoes but not the kind of casual sandal you might wear to the beach.

4. If there’s a washroom in the hallway before you arrive at reception, stop in to tame your hair, run cold water over your hands and wipe the sweat from your brow.  If there’s not, ask directions from the receptionist before she or he lets the interviewer know you have arrived.

All you have to do is get to the interview.  As soon as you exit the building, you can take off the jacket, roll up your shirt sleeves, change into flat sandals and go for freezing cold iced coffee.

If the only voice you’re hearing is your own, then you are likely talking too much.

But you’re not alone in gabbing more than you should. According to a US survey, 36% of recruiters believe the biggest mistake job applicants make is talking too much in an interview.

It’s understandable. Many candidates believe a job interview is supposed to be all about them. It’s not. The reason for the interview is to find out how you can help an organization meet its needs. In other words, it’s all about the company, not about you.

Whether you’re meeting with recruiters or employers in the GTA for temporary work, contract work or full-time job opportunities, keep the following six tips in mind. They’re tried-and-true strategies for ensuring hiring authorities will stay listening to what you have to say.

Put yourself in the interviewer’s shoes. Now think about your speaking points, and ask yourself, “Why should the company care?” Is the information you’re sharing clarifying how you can help meet the company’s needs? If not, you’re off topic, and you could lose the interviewer’s interest very quickly.

Think of your interview as a presentation. The interview may feel informal, but remember that this isn’t a casual chat with a new friend over coffee. Your interview is always a business meeting and the interviewer has an agenda. It’s helpful to think of your interview as a presentation, and the interviewer as your client. Your presentation must meet client needs and interests, engage them, and be to the point.

Make sure you’re having a dialogue, not a monologue. People get restless and irritated when they are talked at. So make sure you are talking with your interviewer and asking questions that show your interest in what they have to say. People want to know you have listening skills.

Do some research. According to an international survey of executive search firms, 22% of candidates make the mistake of not learning about a company before they go in for an interview. If you are seeking contract work or full-time job opportunities in the GTA, you will want to do some research into the organization so that your conversation will be more informed.

Role play. At The Bagg Group, we help candidates prepare for interviews. Here’s a good way to prepare if you are on your own. Write down a list of questions and answers you expect to be asked. And be sure to anticipate follow-up questions too.

Here’s how this works. You can expect to be asked, “What’s your biggest weakness?.” (By the way, the best way to answer that question is to show how you are improving in an area of challenge.) But let’s say you choose to answer: “I’m a workaholic.” Be prepared for a follow-up question. The interviewer may ask, “So how many hours a week do you work?” or “What time do you usually arrive at work in the morning and what time do you leave?” Do you have an honest answer ready?

After you answer the question, stop talking: When people are nervous, they often tend to repeat themselves. And the longer you talk, without saying anything new, the more you reduce the value of your answer. So make your point and stop. You make a greater impression when you give the interviewer a chance to respond to what you’ve been saying or ask you another question.

Above all, never lose sight that the interviewer isn’t meeting with you to be entertained or to hear your life story. The interviewer just wants to hear about how you can contribute to the company. Stay focused on that, and the conversation will work for both of you.

Great question. Many people approach their meeting with a recruiter as a casual get-together. In fact, it’s better to think of it as a dress rehearsal.

Your recruiter is the stand-in for the employer. When they meet with you, they have to consider: How would this candidate come off in front a hiring authority?

At The Bagg Group, we’ve been working with GTA employers for so long that we know what they expect, and what works for them and what doesn’t.

You may be surprised to learn that there are a few casual behaviors and habits that a lot of us do without thinking which are frowned upon by hiring authorities. As always, it’s the little things in life that can lift you up or bring you down.

Here’s a list from our experts for What Not To Do when meeting with an employer or a recruiter, whether you’re meeting to talk about temporary work, contract work or full-time employment:

Don’t wear sunglasses on your head. Sunglasses dangling from shirts or on top of the head suggest a flippant attitude.

Don’t bring your own coffee into the meeting. Many people don’t think twice about picking up a latte to take into a meeting. But staffing experts urge you to think again. The protocol is that unless you’ve called ahead and asked the recruiter if they’d like a coffee, save the java for after the meeting.

Don’t remove your shoes. Believe it or not, recruiters and hiring authorities at top employers in the GTA have many stories of people casually slipping out of their shoes during meetings. And these are not stories with happy endings. Often people wear uncomfortable dress-up shoes to attend a job interview, but no matter how much the shoe pinches, try to grin and bear it.

Don’t shower in perfume. Too much of a good thing can give someone who is sensitive to fragrance a serious headache. You don’t want the interviewer to pick up any odors, of any kind. If your after-shave or perfume overwhelms them, they’ll be thinking more about getting away from you than hiring you.

Don’t smell of cigarettes. If the interviewer is a non-smoker, you face the same problem as above. If you smoke heavily, you may not notice the smell of tobacco on your clothes, but in a closed office, an interviewer, who is not a smoker, may find the smell overpowering. Try to wear smoke-free clothes to any interview.

Avoid the soft-chair slump. A good interviewer makes you feel comfortable. But you can’t afford to get too comfortable in your chair, according to the experts on body-language. Here’s why:

• If you slouch, it may appear that you’re not taking the interview seriously. And you risk coming off as a slacker. 
• If you put your hands behind your head while talking, you project arrogance.
• If you sit with your legs placed wide, you are perceived as acting over-familiar.
• If you lean too far forward, you may off as aggressive.
• If you lean far back, you come off as overly casual.

The experts say there’s only one way to sit in an interview—with a straight and upright body. This way, how you sit doesn’t distract the interviewer from what you’re saying.

You want to be yourself in any interview and keep the focus on what you have to say. You are the star of the interview. So you don’t want the little things, like too much perfume or a sore foot, to upstage you.